T.J. McConnell vs. Hakeem Olajuwon Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Hakeem Olajuwon and T.J. McConnell, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

T.J. McConnell played 11 years in the NBA, 7 less than Hakeem Olajuwon, who played 18. T.J. McConnell had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Hakeem Olajuwon had his rookie season in 1984-85. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2015-16	1984-85
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	81	19.8	6.1	0.5	2.6	3.1	4.5	1.2	0.1	1.7	1.4	2.7	5.7	.470	0.4	1.1	.348	0.3	0.5	.634
difference:	+1	+15.7	+14.5	+4.9	+3.9	+8.8	+3.1		+2.6	-1.2	-2.8	+5.6	+9.6	+.068	+0.4	+1.1		+3.8	+6.2	+.021
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478

Season 2
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2016-17	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Rockets Lost NBA Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	81	26.3	6.9	0.5	2.6	3.1	6.6	1.7	0.1	2.0	1.7	2.9	6.3	.461	0.1	0.7	.200	0.9	1.1	.811
difference:	+13	+10.0	+16.6	+4.4	+4.0	+8.4	+4.6	+0.3	+3.3	-0.9	-2.3	+6.3	+11.2	+.065	+0.1	+0.7		+4.2	+6.8	+.166
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638

Season 3
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2017-18	1986-87
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	76	22.4	6.3	0.5	2.5	3.0	4.0	1.2	0.2	1.5	1.6	2.8	5.5	.499	0.4	0.8	.435	0.4	0.5	.795
difference:	+1	+14.4	+17.1	+3.7	+4.7	+8.4	+1.1	+0.7	+3.2	-1.5	-2.3	+6.2	+12.3	+.009	+0.4	+0.7	+.235	+4.9	+7.1	+.093
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	10	15.5	5.5	0.6	2.0	2.6	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.6	1.3	2.5	3.6	.694	0.2	0.3	.667	0.3	0.5	.600
difference:		+23.4	+23.7	+3.3	+5.4	+8.7	+0.2	+0.7	+4.3	-3.0	-3.1	+8.5	+14.3	+.079	+0.2	+0.2	+.667	+6.9	+9.2	+.142
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742

Season 4
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2018-19	1987-88
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	76	19.3	6.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	3.4	1.0	0.2	1.2	1.4	2.9	5.5	.525	0.2	0.6	.333	0.4	0.5	.784
difference:	+3	+16.5	+16.4	+3.4	+6.4	+9.8	+1.3	+1.1	+2.5	-1.9	-2.7	+6.1	+12.0	+.011	+0.2	+0.5	+.333	+4.4	+6.4	+.089
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	9	8.3	2.7	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	1.3	3.0	.444	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+5	+32.2	+34.8	+4.9	+11.2	+16.1	+0.6	+2.1	+2.7	-2.2	-3.1	+12.7	+21.5	+.127		+0.3		+9.5	+10.8
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884

Season 5
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2019-20	1988-89
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	71	18.7	6.5	0.5	2.1	2.7	5.0	0.8	0.2	1.4	1.0	3.0	5.8	.516	0.1	0.2	.294	0.5	0.6	.833
difference:	+11	+18.2	+18.3	+3.6	+7.3	+10.8	+3.2	+1.8	+3.2	-2.0	-3.0	+6.6	+13.2	+.008	+0.1	+0.1	+.294	+5.0	+7.4	+.137
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	3	9.3	2.3	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.3	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	1.0	2.7	.375	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.7	.500
difference:	+1	+31.2	+23.0	+3.5	+7.5	+11.0	+0.7	+2.5	+2.8	-1.8	-3.0	+9.5	+17.6	+.144				+4.0	+5.6	+.180
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680

Season 6
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2020-21	1989-90
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	69	26.0	8.6	0.8	2.9	3.7	6.6	1.9	0.3	2.0	1.6	4.0	7.1	.559	0.2	0.7	.313	0.5	0.7	.688
difference:	+13	+12.1	+15.7	+2.8	+7.5	+10.3	+3.7	+0.2	+4.3	-1.9	-2.2	+5.8	+12.5	+.058	+0.2	+0.6	+.146	+4.2	+5.8	+.025
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706

Season 7
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2021-22	1990-91
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Blocks Leader
Playoffs	Did not play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	27	24.1	8.5	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.9	1.1	0.4	1.1	2.0	3.7	7.7	.481	0.4	1.2	.303	0.7	0.9	.826
difference:	+29	+12.7	+12.7	+3.2	+7.2	+10.5	+2.6	+1.1	+3.5	-2.0	-1.9	+5.0	+9.4	+.027	+0.4	+1.1	+.303	+3.1	+4.0	+.057
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824

Season 8
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2022-23	1991-92
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	75	20.3	8.7	0.6	2.5	3.1	5.3	1.1	0.1	1.9	1.4	3.8	6.9	.543	0.3	0.8	.441	0.8	0.9	.853
difference:	+5	+17.4	+12.9	+2.9	+6.1	+9.0	+3.1	+0.7	+4.2	-0.8	-2.4	+4.6	+9.9	+.041	+0.3	+0.8		+3.9	+5.2	+.087
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher T.J. McConnell nor Hakeem Olajuwon played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 9
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2023-24	1992-93
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	71	18.2	10.2	0.5	2.2	2.7	5.5	1.0	0.1	1.5	1.1	4.6	8.4	.556	0.3	0.6	.409	0.7	0.9	.790
difference:	+11	+21.3	+15.9	+3.0	+7.4	+10.3	+2.0	+0.8	+4.1	-1.7	-2.6	+5.7	+11.1	+.027	+0.3	+0.5	+.409	+4.7	+6.1	+.011
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	39.5	26.1	3.5	9.6	13.0	3.5	1.8	4.2	3.2	3.7	10.3	19.5	.529	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.0	.779
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	17	20.5	11.8	0.6	2.4	3.1	5.1	0.9	0.1	1.2	1.5	5.3	10.9	.486	0.4	1.5	.269	0.8	0.9	.867
difference:	+5	+22.7	+13.9	+3.7	+7.3	+10.9	+0.3	+0.9	+4.8	-2.6	-1.6	+5.0	+8.9	+.031	+0.4	+1.4	+.269	+4.4	+5.4	+.040
Hakeem Olajuwon	12	43.2	25.7	4.3	9.7	14.0	4.8	1.8	4.9	3.8	3.1	10.3	19.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.3	.827

Season 10
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2024-25	1993-94
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	79	17.9	9.1	0.6	1.9	2.4	4.4	1.1	0.3	1.4	1.0	4.1	7.9	.519	0.2	0.6	.306	0.7	1.0	.740
difference:	+1	+23.1	+18.2	+2.3	+7.2	+9.5	+0.8	+0.5	+3.4	-2.0	-2.6	+7.1	+13.3	+.009	+0.1	+0.4	+.115	+4.2	+5.8	+.024
Hakeem Olajuwon	80	41.0	27.3	2.9	9.1	11.9	3.6	1.6	3.7	3.4	3.6	11.2	21.2	.528	0.1	0.2	.421	4.9	6.8	.716
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	23	17.5	9.5	0.5	2.7	3.3	4.0	0.9	0.1	1.9	1.1	4.1	7.6	.537	0.3	0.8	.421	1.0	1.2	.815
difference:		+25.5	+19.4	+1.9	+6.0	+7.7	+0.3	+0.8	+3.9	-1.7	-2.5	+7.5	+14.7	+.018	+0.2	+0.6	+.079	+4.6	+5.8	+.020
Hakeem Olajuwon	23	43.0	28.9	2.4	8.7	11.0	4.3	1.7	4.0	3.6	3.6	11.6	22.3	.519	0.1	0.2	.500	5.6	7.0	.795

Season 11
	T.J. McConnell	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2025-26	1994-95
Team	Indiana Pacers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play (season in progress)	NBA Champion

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	21	16.8	9.8	0.3	2.2	2.5	4.5	1.1	0.2	1.1	1.1	4.6	8.2	.555	0.3	1.0	.333	0.3	0.3	1.000
difference:	+51	+22.8	+18.0	+2.1	+6.2	+8.3	+1.0	+0.7	+3.2	-2.2	-2.4	+6.5	+13.3	+.038	+0.3	+0.8	+.145	+5.3	+7.2	+.244
Hakeem Olajuwon	72	39.6	27.8	2.4	8.4	10.8	3.5	1.8	3.4	3.3	3.5	11.1	21.5	.517	0.0	0.2	.188	5.6	7.5	.756
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
T.J. McConnell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	22	42.2	33.0	2.0	8.3	10.3	4.5	1.2	2.8	3.1	4.3	13.9	26.2	.531	0.1	0.2	.500	5.0	7.4	.681

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 7 seasons more than T.J. McConnell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 18, from 1996 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 5 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over T.J. McConnell, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 All-Star Game